Slow growth/leafdrop

[Pixel_Ninja]

Hi Guys,
 
My first season growing peppers so forgive my ignorance. I planted a couple reaper peppers a good while back, and growth has been slow through the winter. I used coconut coir to germinate which was great, but not so great for using as a soil medium for their first repotting. I am experiencing a bit of leaf drop and browning on the leaves. Could anyone guess the cause? I am not sure if it is water/PH/temp related.
 
water: coir means that it is bone dry or wet.
PH: I use tap water so it may be slightly alkaline..
Temp: I currently have them housed inside a plastic hothouse which I never zip up, the temps have been in the 12-24c range during winter, with about 7 hours of sun on them.
 
I have noticed since planting some moruga's that the reapers leaf texture is very bumpy compared to the Morugas which I planted in a good soil mix. 
 
Here are some pics, and as you can see, they need to be planted into the ground or into pots, but at this stage I'm not sure which to do. I am toying with the idea of making a raised garden bed, or getting 10litre pots, is there much of a difference?
 
Hopefully I can ride out of what is left in this winter period.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I have dabbled with a bit of neuts but I have since stopped as I thought that it could be the cause of my probs. Any advice, tips related or otherwise would be very appreciated.
 
PN

 

[SteelHeat]

This looks very familiar, my friend. You are not alone lol. I'm anxious to see what answers you get.

 

[sirex]

Well, if its just straight coir it won't hold any nutes.

If it were me, I'd repot them into something else.

You said your morugas in the soil were good right? Plant the reapers in some soil then.

Everything g except for the morugas look like they are dying of thirst, when I look at the soil.
 
*But the plants look like they have edema to me.

Now I could be wrong. But if you have some that are thriving in soil, and one that are dying in coir, it would seem like soil it is.

We will let someone else with more experience chime in.

Good luck!
 
*edit: got home and looked at pics on computer not mobile.

 

[juanitos]

are you still in coir? coir is kinda inert you need full nutrient solution like masterblend/chemgro/generalhydroponics
if not in coir and in soilmix, they still need nutrients the above nurients or,osmocote,miracle grow even
 
your ph should be slightly acidic like a 6-6.5
 
i'm sure those 2 would cause stunted growth you are seeing.

 

[sirex]

Think about it like this.
 
People use coir not only for germinating but also for hydroponic gardening (among other things).
So those plants are getting no nutes at all now since you stopped fertilizing. Sure coir has potassium(K), and a little iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) but its probably all washed away by now.

 
 
Also, here is a biggie.
Coir can hold what, 8 to 9 times its weight in water. So when you do water it probably holds a lot instead of draining. Which can lead to the plant holding a lot of water causing the leaves to turn yellow and bumpy. Then the roots dry out and start getting thirsty while the rest of the plant has edema.
 
 
My suggestion would be to get those guys into some well draining soil with some food. You should be good to go then.
 
 
Keep us updated!

 

[Toca66]

Coir works slightly different to soil. Coir requires more hands on care such as maintaining the correct pH and moisture level.
 
It is possible you have got a calcium deficiency which is causing the yellowing.
 
As previously stated you are probably better off repotting your repears in soil